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Show -oo PRISON LABOR. Prison labor is a question of deep interest in-terest to the people of Colorado. The Board of. Charities and Corrections of this State has given much time to its consideration, while the individual members of the board have made exhaustive ex-haustive investigations on the subject. In Colorado, as elsewhere, vigorous opposition to the employment of con- . i . i - j r.. V.rt ,1 T . t-r, T"i f vicis nas tniuiiaiBiii n i'iu ic i."" - labor unions, whose members entertain enter-tain fear of the competition that might come from the employment of convicts. That the dangers of such competition are very much exaggerated, all who have given thought to the subject are convinced, while at the same time no doubt exists that every humane principle prin-ciple urr.es in favor of giving employment employ-ment to the unfortunates confined in penal institutions; Mr. Carroll D. Wright, who is now, we believe, a professor in the Catholic University, in an address before the National Prison Association at Hartford, Hart-ford, Conn., in September last, read a most interesting paper on "Prison Labor," La-bor," which has proved a valuable contribution con-tribution to the discussion which will continue until the whole question is satisfactorily adjusted. Mr. Wright prefaces his admirable paper with the following interesting paragraphs: " ' "Mabillon, a famous Benedictine Monk, Abbe of Saint Germain in Paris, and one of the most learned men of the day of Louis XIV, foreshadowed many of the features of modern prison discipline dis-cipline andi of prison labor. In his dissertations he discussed the matter of reformation in prison discipline. He was born in 1632 and died in 1707. It was during the last half of the seventeenth seven-teenth century that he made known his ideas and plans. It was his opinion that penitents might be secluded in cells, like those of the Carthusian monks; and there employed in various sorts of labor. To each cell might be joined a little garden, where at appointed ap-pointed hours the penitents might take an airing and cultivate the ground, j "At a -time later than that of Mabillon, Mabil-lon, Clement XI built a juvenile prison at St. Michael, Rome, over the entrance to which was placed this inscription: 'Clement XI, Supreme Pontiff, reared this prison for the reformation and education ed-ucation of criminal youths to the end that those who, when idle, had been injurious to the State might, when better bet-ter instructed and trained, become useful use-ful to it.' This prison was erected In 1704. "Still later Viscount Vilain XIV, Burgomaster of Ghent, built the celebrated cele-brated prison of that town, the construction con-struction of which has had its influence influ-ence upon prison building in our time; but the . architectural merits of the prison built under his plan are the least to commend it. Dr. F. H. Wines, in his valuable work. 'Punishment and Reformation,' gives Vilain the credit of being the father of modern penitentiary silence. He made, rules for the government govern-ment of the prison' and the organiza-i ( tion of labor in it, and realized that 111 mc ucc ui jiiiuii;io in wiuuueuve labor was to be found the primary agency for reformation of criminals. He appreciated the importance, Dr. Wines gees on to say, of the selection of prison industries, choosing, so far as practicable, such as would come least into competition with free labor on the outside. There was a great diversity di-versity of vocations followed in his prison, among which were carding, spinning, weaving, shoemaking, tailoring, tailor-ing, carpentry, and the manufacture of wool and cotton cards. He had some I purely' penal pursuits for disciplinary purposes, and he paid great- attention to the classification of prisoners. The prison was opened in the year 1775." And yet in this age of enlightenment we are really uncivilized in our treatment treat-ment of prisoners compared with bygone by-gone ages. Mr. Wright considers the question In all its aspects, the pros and cons re-' ceive the most careful , consideration, and from it all he draws the following conclusions, which , the opponents of prison labor will find difficult to combat. com-bat. Mr. Wright's conclusions are: .1 That it is wisest to conduct prison industries in such a way as to leave the least impression on prices and the rates Oi. wages. That for incorrigibles and recidi- i t,hat fonn of labor should be adopted which requires the largest ex-, penditure of muscle in proportion to the cost of raw materials, and the least outlay of capital. v- 3. That there is not so much reform-able reform-able material in prisons as philanthropists philanthro-pists and others would have us believe. 1. That very many persons now sent to prison by the courts should be sent to insane asylums, or institutions for the treatment of the feeble-minded. 5. That it is the interest of labor and capital to reduce the number of prisoners prison-ers rather than constantly to attack the systems of prison labor. 6. That in the conduct of prisons and the employment of prisoners the physician's phy-sician's point of view should be followed; fol-lowed; that is, the cure of moral maladies mala-dies in state prisons, as well as the cure of mental and physical maladies in other institutions, should be the basis ba-sis of management. " ". That in the employment 5T convicts the effect upon the treasury should be incidental to the best effect upon the prisoners themselves and upon the I community at larse. 8- That it is wise to let the svstem now on trial in the states that na.ej provided for it the state-use system alone until it can be fully tried and cle- j terminad whether it involves the very best elements of reformation, remuneration, remuner-ation, and the constant and healthy employment of the convicts. 9. That the state should always conduct con-duct its prisoners and employs its Pns" oners in such a way that the individual shall not be degraded. |